Best-seller The Longman Reader includes its abundant and highly praised pedagogy plus a wealth of readings organized by patterns of development (an alternative table of contents organizes them thematically). The opening chapters focus on reading critically and the writing process. The subsequent chapters begin with detailed writing instruction, including an annotated student paper, and end with professional essays. These new and beloved professional essays range widely in subject matter and approach — from the humorous to the informative, from personal meditation to argument —and capture students' interest while demonstrating specific patterns of development. The Longman Reader shares many of the same readings and other core material with The Longman Writer.

* The 8th Edition introduces sweeping changes to the philosophy and details of MLA works cited entries. Responding to the “increasing mobility of texts,” MLA now encourages writers to focus on the process of crafting the citation, beginning with the same questions for any source. These changes, then, align with current best practices in the teaching of writing which privilege inquiry and critical thinking over rote recall and rule-following.

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Table of Contents

THEMATIC CONTENTS

1 READING CRITICALLY

Stage 1: Get an Overview of the SelectionFIRST READING: A CHECKLIST Stage 2: Deepen Your Sense of the Selection SECOND READING: A CHECKLIST Stage 3: Evaluate the Selection EVALUATING A SELECTION: A CHECKLIST Assessing Visuals in a Reading Assessing an Image: An Example Assessing a Graph: An Example A Model Annotated Reading

Ellen Goodman FAMILY COUNTERCULTURE

Parents are told to switch the dial if they don’t want their kids watching something on TV. But what should parents do when the entire culture warrants being switched off?

The truth of the old adage “beauty lies in the eye of the beholder” is illustrated in this description of the place the author calls home. While his barrio may be considered an unattractive place by outsiders, it is beautiful to Mario Suárez because of the people who live there and the culture they embrace.

Figure 3.2 Essay Structure Diagram: ”El Hoyo” by Mario Suárez

David Helvarg THE STORM THIS TIME

Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, an environmentalist tours New Orleans and the Gulf Coast to assess damage and the prospects for recovery.

Riverbend BLOGGERS WITHOUT BORDERS

An Iraqi woman describes her experience as a refugee in Syria and her realization that people from all segments of Iraqi society, even if they are divided against one another in Iraq, are united and often mutually supportive when they are displaced as refugees.

Judith Ortiz Cofer A PARTIAL REMEMBRANCE OF A PUERTO RICAN CHILDHOOD

With wistful affection, the author recalls the laughter and lessons of a late-afternoon gathering of women in her family.

Cherokee Paul McDonald A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE

A chance encounter with a young boy turns into an experience the narrator will never forget–one that changes the way he sees the world.

For the narrator of this story, school served as much more than a place to attain an education. As is true for many children, school provided a desperately needed escape from an unhappy home where she was often overlooked.

Langston Hughes SALVATION

In the course of being “saved” during a revival meeting, a young boy’s life is changed forever.

Barbara Ehrenreich SERVING IN FLORIDA

The author relates her experiences as a worker in low-wage, blue collar jobs and reflects on how they changed her, but not necessarily in a good way.

Joan Murray SOMEONE'S MOTHER

A woman gives a ride to a 90-year-old hitchhiker who can't remember where she lives but doesn't want her son to find out she's lost again.

Additional Writing Topics

5 EXEMPLIFICATION

What Is Exemplification? How Exemplification Fits Your Purpose and Audience Strategies for Using Exemplification in an Essay Figure 5.1 Development Diagram: Writing an Exemplification Essay Revision Strategies EXEMPLIFICATION: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST Student Essay: “ Professors Open Up About the Benefits of a College Degree” by Charlene Adams Commentary Activities: Exemplification

Kay S. Hymowitz TWEENS: TEN GOING ON SIXTEEN

Where have all the children gone? According to Hymowitz, they’ve been hijacked by a culture that urges them to become teenagers at ten. From clothes and hairstyles to sex, drugs, and violence, today’s “tweens” are hurled prematurely into the adult world.

While many think of autism as a disability, the author and educator Temple Grandin considers the condition an asset that allows her to see the world in a way that would not be possible if she were “normal.”

Brent Staples BLACK MEN AND PUBLIC SPACE

Staples describes his own experiences as a black man being avoided in public spaces because of his race.

Beth Johnson BOMBS BURSTING IN AIR

Forced to share grim news with her children, the author reflects on life’s fragility–and its beauty.

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni COMMON SCENTS: THE SMELL OF CHILDHOOD NEVER FADES

An Indian woman recounts how every one of her scent-memories is associated with a life lesson taught by her mother.

Additional Writing Topics

6 DIVISION-CLASSIFICATION

What Is Division-Classification? How Division-Classification Fits Your Purpose and Audience Strategies for Using Division-Classification in an Essay Figure 6.1 Development Diagram: Writing a Division-Classification Essay Revision Strategies DIVISION-CLASSIFICATION: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST Student Essay: “The Benchers, the Nappers, the Jellyfish, and the Musicians” by Catherine Gispert Commentary Activities: Division-Classification

Amy Tan MOTHER TONGUE The author explores the different kinds of English that she uses and how they were shaped by the English her Chinese mother spoke.

Figure 6.2 Essay Structure Diagram: “Mother Tongue” by Amy Tan

Stephanie Ericsson THE WAYS WE LIE

“You look great!” you tell a friend who resembles something the cat dragged in. “The check’s in the mail!” you say, knowing your account is empty as a drum. Stephanie Ericsson explores how, when, and why we lie.

William Zinsser COLLEGE PRESSURES

According to Zinsser, many students concentrate almost exclusively on the practical — and miss some of the most important parts of college life.

David Brooks PSST! “HUMAN CAPITAL”

Human capital, necessary for a just, prosperous society, is more than skills and knowledge. It includes cultural, social, moral, cognitive, and aspirational capital.

The author discusses a Pew Research Center report that reveals how teens are tiring of Facebook and turning to other social networking sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to stay constantly connected to each other.

After serving in the U.S. military in Iraq and returning to college at Georgetown University, Alex Horton offers advice that can help other student veterans as they cope with college life and gives non-veterans insight into the challenges veterans face.

Paul Roberts HOW TO SAY NOTHING IN 5 WORDS

An English professor analyzes a student essay, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Caroline Rego THE FINE ART OF COMPLAINING

Shoddy service and malfunctioning products afflict us all, but some of us complain more effectively than others.

Werner Gundersheimer A MOTHER'S SECRET

For some, keeping secrets is less about the desire to hide the truth and more about the need to avoid the pain that talking about the past summons up.

Josie Appleton explores the diminishing taboo associated with tattoos and body piercings and compares the various reasons many individuals of all ages and from all walks of life use these procedures to modify their bodies.

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom A MICKEY MOUSE APPROACH TO GLOBALIZATION

Does the widespread popularity of American icons and products such as Mickey Mouse and the Big Mac indicate that the world is becoming more Americanized, or do other cultures attach their own significance and meaning to the things they borrow from us? Wasserstrom, a professor who specializes in Chinese history, explores this idea.

Dave Barry BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Why do men tend to be unconcerned about their appearance while women seem obsessed with how they look? Humorist Dave Barry advances an interesting theory.

Stephen Chapman THE PRISONER’S DILEMMA

Which, the author asks, is a more effective approach to punishment — a few moments of pain or many years of imprisonment? You decide.

Additional Writing Topics

9 CAUSE-EFFECT

What Is Cause-Effect? How Cause-Effect Fits Your Purpose and Audience Strategies for Using Cause-Effect in an Essay Figure 9.1 Development Diagram: Writing a Cause-Effect Essay Revision Strategies CAUSE-EFFECT: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST Student Essay: “Party with a Purpose” by Erica Zwieg Commentary Activities: Cause-Effect

Jane S. Shaw NATURE IN THE SUBURBS

Is urban sprawl wiping out wildlife? Shaw explains how many wild animal species are finding new living environments in the expansion of suburbs.

The veil, or hijab, a head covering worn by many Islamic women and often regarded as a symbol of oppression, was predicted to become a thing of the past by the twenty-first century. Instead, it has witnessed a comeback, especially among educated, progressive Muslim women. Ahmed explores this phenomenon and her own changing attitude towards the veil.

Jacques D’Amboise SHOWING WHAT IS POSSIBLE

By taking control of one’s body, this celebrated dancer explains, it is possible to take control of one’s life.

Juan Williams THE RULING THAT CHANGED AMERICA

Williams explores the effects on American society of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling.

John M. Darley and Bibb Latané WHEN WILL PEOPLE HELP IN A CRISIS?

“Woman attacked; bystanders ignore her screams.” We read such headlines and shake our heads in despair. What kind of people, we ask, could react so callously? The answer may be–people just like us.

The attitudes and values of “Gen Nexters”–those 18 to 25–seem contradictory, but perhaps they actually do make sense. Figure 10.2 Essay Structure Diagram: “Beyond the Pleasure Principle” by Ann Hulbert

Keith Johnson WHO’S A PIRATE? IN COURT, A DUEL OVER DEFINITIONS

Although piracy has long been considered a crime, there is no complete explanation in U.S. law of what exactly piracy entails. So who, then, is a pirate?

Laura Fraser THE INNER CORSET

This selection explores the changing definition of female beauty, from the days when big was considered beautiful to the present, when “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” is the prevailing mantra.

Lillian Comas-Diaz HISPANICS, LATINOS, OR AMERICANOS: THE EVOLUTION OF IDENTITY

Asserting that the names used to label individuals play an important role in their identities, Comas-Díaz creates a taxonomy of the words used to identify members of the Hispanic/Latino population and defines each term.

William Raspberry THE HANDICAP OF DEFINITION

Raspberry looks at the expectations that many of his fellow African Americans have for themselves–and sees a serious problem.

Additional Writing Topics

11 ARGUMENTATION-PERSUASION

What Is Argumentation-Persuasion? How Argumentation-Persuasion Fits Your Purpose and Audience Strategies for Using Argumentation-Persuasion in an Essay Figure 11.1 Development Diagram: Writing an Argumentation-Persuasion Essay QUESTIONS FOR USING TOULMIN LOGIC: A CHECKLIST Revision Strategies ARGUMENTATION-PERSUASION: A REVISION/PEER REVIEW CHECKLIST Student Essay: “It’s About Time, Augusta” by Lydia Gumm Commentary Activities: Argumentation-Persuasion

Stanley Fish FREE-SPEECH FOLLIES

A noted scholar explores the difference between invoking the First Amendment and simply exercising good judgment in academic settings.

To encourage people to donate organs, the author proposes limiting the receipt of donated organs to only those who agree to donate themselves.

Virginia Postrel NEED TRANSPLANT DONORS? PAY THEM Paying people who donate organs is one solution to the shortage of organs available for transplants.

Examining an Issue: Government Regulation to Help Control Obesity and Related IssuesMark Bittman WHAT CAUSES WEIGHT GAIN

The food columnist and popular TV personality Mark Bittman takes a stand against hyperprocessed food that he believes is making Americans obese, advocating for government programs to help Americans gain control of their eating habits.

As leading researchers, Marlow and Abdukadirov make the argument that there is no easy answer to the issue of obesity in the United States and that individuals–not governments–must take the initiative in combating this serious issue.

Additional Writing Topics

12 COMBINING THE PATTERNS

The Patterns in Action: During the Writing Process The Patterns in Action: In an Essay 572 Student Essay: “Dating Then and Now: A Convoluted Mess” by Houston Barber